Fantasy

Fantasy isn’t just a random celebrity cheapie to me. It’s one of those scents that got tied up with my personal history, and I’ve been acquainted with it since the original 2005 launch, so I know its DNA really well. I’m mainly posting because there’s now a new 2025 Give Back Beauty (Made in Italy) version entering distribution and there still aren’t many reviews of this specific formulation. I was able to pick up a bottle by chance recently and have spent some time with her before giving my thoughts. OG Elizabeth Arden Fantasy (particularly 2008–2022 era, made in USA & France) was peak Fantasy for me. It had that syrupy, juicy lychee/kiwi fruitiness and the whole thing felt “pink” in the best way. What I miss most is the white chocolate musky shampooey pink glow of a drydown, which clung to clothes and lasted like actual perfume. Also: I don’t agree with the common idea that 2005–2007 Fantasy was significantly more cupcakey. To me Fantasy was always more cupcake-textured than cupcake-scented. Sweet and spongy, yes, but not buttercream frosting. I do remember those first editions being more complex and vanillic, but the 2008 - 2022 versions of Fantasy basically smelled the same to me despite any small tweaks, and like a good reliable rendition of the original composition. The 2023 Revlon version (Made in Spain) is where Fantasy really started to feel cheap to me. It’s thinner, less sweet, and the performance drops to “body mist” territory, as has been covered by other reviewers. The roundness in the lychee/kiwi fruity notes feels replaced by a flat, cheap citrus note (honestly it screams citronellol-type to my nose). There’s also this watery melon/cucumber thing going on ~ very BBW Cucumber Melon ~ that I never got from earlier bottles. The drydown loses that pink glow and the white chocolate effect becomes faint and generic. ~ Now let's discuss the new bottle on the block - Give Back Beauty Fantasy (2025 Made in Italy) ~ This one is definitely an improvement over the Revlon bottle. It restores a lot: more pink fruit, more strength, more sweetness, and more of the white chocolate vibe. But it still isn’t the later EA formulation, because there’s now a weird buttercream/yellow cake note in the drydown on my clothes that wasn’t there before and it throws me off. It feels like it was added to satisfy the online “OG 2005 cupcake Fantasy” narrative, but that’s not what Fantasy was to me. Fantasy didn’t need frosting, it already had the cake texture. I want my clothes to smell sweet musky pink again, not buttery 🤢 So yes: GBB Fantasy is better than Revlon, and I’m glad they tried to fix her... but it’s not a true replacement for the later EA version. It's still missing that sweet musky silky "pink" thing that was a big part of the original EA formulas. Some of the lasting freshness and lift is just missing - like it was deleted. My hunch is that it's due to the lilial ban. They tried but it's just not possible to make it like it used to be with current restrictions. I hope I can get used to it or that they tweak it again, if they are indeed reading our reviews. Do you hear me, GBB? But for real, at the end of the day I’m grateful Fantasy is still recognizable, and that this reformulation is genuinely an improvement. Most perfumes don’t get that kind of second chance.

🩷💚💙🤍✨Fantasy✨🤍💙💚🩷 My first celebrity scent. A friend wore this and when she said it was Britney’s scent I was shocked. It smelled so good! At the time the only celebrity scents were by Elizabeth Taylor. They seemed too mature, not reflective of the time. The other scents were chemist or designer/ perfume house scents. I left behind, for a while, my signature scent at the time Chanel Coco Mademoiselle EDT, for Fantasy. This was on-trend, brought gourmand into the mainstream and was ground breaking. First, the packaging. The swirls on the outside remind me of Pucci designs. Abroad, exotic, high fashion. I imagine Britney’s world was opening up at this time as she travelled abroad and experienced this jet set world. Then the I Dream of Genie bottle! An Arabian touch, from distant lands again. Pink, fun, frivolous. Attention grabbing, amongst a sea of elegant clear glass bottles, with champagne juice and gold tops. I remember reading long ago the original bottles of Fantasy had Swarovski crystals, not just on the bottle, but around the neck. Next the juice. The opening is a Pucci swirl, a genie twirl, equal parts citrus and florals, not competing, just dancing together. Like Britney who loves to twirl. Not long after this settles, the scent predominantly becomes fruity. The kiwi although fresh and tart, with the orris root, is stamped into the skin, the fragrance is set, along with the powdery note from the orchid. There isn’t much sweetness...yet. As the drydown starts the sweetness begins. And lasts for hours. I mainly get the red litchi, maybe mango, tropical fruits. I don’t pick up on the cupcake or chocolate, perhaps they’re blended perfectly together, but there is extra sweetness pairing with the fruit. I pick up more on the texture of cake, not the smell of it. Original versions were much sweeter. This dance is concluded with musk. Or was it all a Fantasy? Longevity and projection are big. The price is small. Britney did all of us a solid with this one. Although I no longer reach for it, I keep a bottle for the memories and, quite frankly, as a memento, a piece of fragrance history. The Legendary Miss Britney Spears, thank you for this legendary scent. 🩷💚💙🤍✨🌺🪻🥝🥭🧁🏝️🛥️🩰✨🤍💙💚🩷

What do Fantasy by Britney Spears and Angel by Mugler have in common? They’re both fragrances that, at the time of their release, represented the absolute peak of sweetness and gourmand perfumery. Today, though, there are much sweeter options out there. I wanted to start my review this way to make it clear: I don’t find Fantasy to be as overwhelmingly sweet as people say. In today’s fragrance world—dominated by ultra-vanilla-heavy scents and Middle Eastern-style caramelized gourmands, especially in the vein of Bianco Latte and similar syrupy, dessert-like creations—Fantasy is no longer the sweetest perfume in existence. Not only is the competition sweeter than ever, but reformulations of Fantasy have also amplified its fresher, slightly tart kiwi facet. These days, it feels much more toned down compared to the original version. It opens with a tangy, slightly green fruity kiwi note. There’s even a hint of freshness at first—but it’s not a full-on fresh scent, because soon after, the cupcake and white chocolate notes begin to emerge. Another nuance I pick up is a clean musk in the base. When blended with the other notes, it gives off a slightly “doll-like,” almost plasticky impression. Personally, I really enjoy this—it adds to the fragrance’s unique charm. As it dries down, it becomes sweeter... but it’s far from the white chocolate cupcake bomb it once was. I also don’t consider it overused. I only bought Fantasy for myself later in life, and I rarely smell it on people around me. Fantasy is now 21 years old—soon it will start to feel almost vintage. Just like in the 2000s, when fragrances from the ’80s were already considered vintage. And even if it were overused, it would still be magical and iconic. To me, it truly captures the scent of fantasy—a princess-like aura. On my skin, the current version lasted around 6 hours, with solid projection throughout. It’s stronger for the first hour and a half, then settles into a softer, more intimate trail. P.S. I’m obsessed with the ad, where Britney Spears runs through an enchanted forest, escaping from a prince. That’s exactly the imagery that comes to mind whenever I smell Fantasy. 🩷🥝🧁🍭🩷

This scent THREW me back into the early 2000s. I am in my early 30s, but I will never forget the scent of this fragrance. My mom used to spritz herself once on each wrist and dab it on her neck. The smell would follow her all over the house. I recently re-purchased this fragrance from my local Walgreens and I was honestly surprised it was still in production. The bottle looks and feels exactly how I remember, beautiful deep magenta bottle with the patterned small gems with the greenish yellow hue. The neck of the bottle even feels exactly like I remember from when I would sneak it off my moms counter in middle school thinking that my mom wouldn't notice. The perfume is sweet, gourmand, slightly fruity, and it has a distinct musky base. A lot of reviewers mention that they don't smell the white chocolate (especially youtube reviewers) but I noticed it immediately upon spraying it on my wrist, and even after letting it settle. It's not a top note so a lot may not notice the white chocolate because of the floral and sweet notes, but there is a light creamy/vanilla scent in the fragrance. I would say, if you imagine the scent of a white chocolate wax melt, it's that same synthetic scent. And for me, it doesn't detract from my love for this perfume. The best part about this perfume is that once it settles into the skin, the scent remains fruity, musky, and floral. I have had more expensive scents that settle into the skin and lose the fruity scent. And the sillage!! When I spritzed this on my wrist and went to run my dogs outside an hour later, the scent followed me all the way down the staircase with my hands at my side the entire time. This is such a timeless classic, I am definitely making sure I keep this one on hand at all times.

ohhhh this one. im guessing most of the girls are aware of fantasy, because we were all babies once, and bc i remember seeing a tiktok this white professor academia guy made saying THIS was the best perfume ever made. like, scientifically. i cant remember his data. but. this first came to me when i was probably around 5 or 6. my mom and i would visit her friend debras apartment, where debra would smoke inside, kept the lighting ambient, and had cushy leather furniture. i have a distinct memory of seeing a pool of toenail clippings in the crack of the recliner cushion. her teenage daughter lived with her, up the small stairs, her room was protected with pink beads that hung from the doorframe. my first taste of true american glamour. 2007~2008. she would give me big girl gifts about everytime we came over, like those all-in-1 makeup gift sets from ulta when creme lipstuffs were still in. in 1 inch squares on a plastic plate. one time she gifted me a britney spears perfume set of 4 tiny baby sized glass bottles. midnight, fantasy, and two others, one teal and one chartruese, that i didnt even see listed on this website. they didnt matter. it was the two bedazzled blue and pink mini bottles i fell in love with. i could write a book but let me say it clear. fantasy is a sister, fantasy is a memory, fantasy is meant to be paired with sweat and BO and unwashed vag. its young and iconic and an artifact of the women who came 10 years before me, the world of crass feminimity and sass and love i was brought up in. **i own the midnightfantasy duo ball so i still have these 2 nostalgic scents on hand, atp afraid to use them because i dont care enough to drop cash on a replacement, but i dont ever want it to go away